Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS2
Bruce Fraser
Peachpit Press, 2005
Intermediate-Advanced users
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| In The DAM Book, Peter
Krogh recommends that those wishing deeper insight into
Adobe's Camera Raw consult this volume by Bruce Fraser. And
with good reason. This second incarnation of Bruce's book
explains how to use Camera Raw to do the bulk of your
initial image adjustments and to automate Photoshop
processes to set up your edits there while still in Bridge.
Bruce presents real-world examples of RAW images that need
help, explains how to make the best use of Camera RAW
controls to make adjustments, and why certain procedures
will leave you with more editing headroom once you open the
image in Photoshop. His chapter on batch operations is
equally good, of value to anyone who uses batch actions. |
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The book is not without its limitations. There is a great deal of
repetition. Four times in as many pages, we are told that Bridge
builds high-quality previews from scratch rather than using those
generated by the camera, and the fact that digital captures devote
more pixels to the lightest areas in the image and comparatively few
to the shadow areas is made several times. Screen captures that
contain text are too small for the eyes of older readers, a problem
that is inherent in the format of the book itself.
But these are quibbles in what is otherwise a valuable guide to a
tool that is growing in complexity and value. Real World Camera Raw
is so valuable, in fact, that I replaced the original Photoshop CS
version with the updated version when it came out.
—Jim Lewis, Action Central |
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